Category: Covenant Theology

A Church in the House: A Sermon Concerning Family Religion

Preached in London, April 16, 1704
by Matthew Henry

“With the church that is in their house.“
1 Corinthians 16:19

Among the salutations presented by the Apostle Paul in his first epistle to the Corinthians, was that from Aquila and Priscilla, and “the church that is in their house” (1 Cor. 16:19). Some very good interpreters, I know, understand this of a settled, stated, solemn meeting of Christians at the house of Aquila and Priscilla, for public worship; and they were glad of houses to meet in, where they wanted those better conveniences, which the church was afterwards, in her prosperous days, accommodated with. When they had not such places as they could wish, they thankfully made use of such as they could get.

But others think it is meant only of their own family, and the strangers within their gates, among whom there was so much piety and devotion, that it might well be called a church, or religious house. Thus the ancients generally understood it. Nor was it only Aquila and Priscilla whose house was thus celebrated for religion (here and Rom. 16:5), but Nymphas also had a church in his house (Col. 4:15 and Phil. 1:2). Not but that others, to whom and from whom salutations are sent in Paul’s epistles, made conscience of keeping up religion in their families; but these are mentioned, probably because their families were more numerous than most of those other families were; which made their family devotions more solemn, and consequently more taken notice of.

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